Remember that commercial from the late 80s with the tagline, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile?” The Repertory Theatre of St Louis’s production of “A Christmas Carol” is kinda like that. This is not your father’s, or grandmother’s (or your crazy Aunt Millie’s) adaptation of this Dickensian tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s war on Christmas. As you survey St. Louis’s rich assortment of holiday offerings (and there truly is a cornucopia that runneth over), this production entices with a shiny, progressive reboot of this Christmas chestnut.
It’s a new spin on “A Christmas Carol” that’s perfect for those with short attention spans. This adaptation treats the story of Scrooge’s transformation as the plain evergreen upon which the shiny baubles of scenic design (Tim Mackabee), lighting and projections (Seth Reiser and Hana S. Kim), costumes (Dede Ayite), choreography (Kirven Douthit-Boyd) and hip hop choreography (Robert Crenshaw) are hung. Bringing youthful energy to the production are the Webster University conservatory cast, the Big Muddy Dance Company dancers, whose ghost dancers add much to certain key scenes, and a youth ensemble from the Center of Creative Arts.
By flattening the well-known story line whose lead character has been represented by everyone and everything from Alastair Sim and Michael Caine to Bill Murray and Mr. Magoo, this adaptation by Michael Wilson (the same as last year’s) embellishes the story of Scrooge’s transformation with new characters and scenes not in the Dickens novel.
Upon each of the story’s key moments – Marley’s appearance, visits by the three Spirits, the Cratchit family’s penury, etc. – director Hana S. Sharif hangs contemporary dance numbers, special effects and humorous asides among all the dark, dank Victoriana. The dance is an especially effective component of this adaptation; the inconsistent use of modern colloquialisms – not so much.
The result is a Whitman’s Sampler of a production that tries too hard to provide a little something for every taste. And like that holiday box, there’s all sorts of chocolates, including a rap-infused “O Come All Ye Faithful,” a Marley who flies up from beneath the stage like a spectral Peter Pan, a dance number that includes The Worm, and a Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come that’s part-Mad Max, part-Blade and part-Gimp from “Pulp Fiction.”
The latter makes his NFL-inspired entrance complete with hoverboard and ravers glasses. This ghost’s entrance is certainly impressive but calls too much attention to itself and pulls you out of the story. It also undercuts the emotional impact of Scrooge recognizing his tombstone – the climax of the story.
The same holds true for the final scene (not in Dickens’s original) with Scrooge hosting a party. This is a well-intentioned addition that hopes to highlight the new, improved Scrooge, but which borrows too much from the final scene in the “White Christmas” movie. It also weakens the intent of Dickens to use this story to examine the plight of the disadvantaged. As Scrooge promises the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
Sharif adds another complexity to this production by double casting of most of the key roles. It was fun (and impressive) to see the way Laakan McHardy played both a doll seller and the Ghost of Christmas Past (the best of the portrayals of the spirits) and Paul Aguirre went from a refreshments vendor to a vampy, over-the-top Christmas Present. Michael James Reed also played double duty as Mrs. Dilber (Scrooge’s housekeeper with shades of “Mrs. Doubtfire”) and the spectral Jacob Marley – how’s that for range!
The roles of Scrooge and Bob Cratchit are played by Guiesseppe Jones and Armando McClain, respectively. McClain provides one of this production’s best and most consistent and balanced portrayals as the long-suffering Cratchit. Ultimately, “A Christmas Carol” hinges on the portrayal of Scrooge. Jones displays an impressive range, which he definitely needs in this adaptation that pivots (sometimes to distraction) from lightheartedly humorous to full-on King Lear-level theatricality. As impressive as Jones was in all his scenes, his performance was often too self-contained and lacked chemistry with the other actors.
Overall, this production is designed with lots of wow-factors to defy you to call it anything but bah-humbug. The success of this approach depends on how you like your Scrooge served up. If you’re seeking the more traditional, ye merry ole England version (I remember one from my youth that included real basset hounds on stage), this isn’t that. To its credit, this adaptation avoids the saccharin Timmy-fell-down-the-well savior sub-narrative of so many other productions. And, it brings a modern sensibility to this timeless, still all-too-relevant story.
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents “A Christmas Carol” November 19–December 30 at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road, St. Louis. For tickets or more information, visit: www.repstl.org.
CB Adams is an award-winning fiction writer and photographer based in the Greater St. Louis area. A former music/arts editor and feature writer for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, his non-fiction has been published in local, regional and national publications. His literary short stories have been published in more than a dozen literary journals and his fine art photography has been exhibited in more than 40 galley shows nationwide. Adams is the recipient of the Missouri Arts Council’s highest writing awards: the Writers’ Biennial and Missouri Writing!. The Riverfront Times named him, “St. Louis’ Most Under-Appreciated Writer” in 1996.
By Lynn Venhaus Area theatergoers, you must see “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” now playing at the recently renamed Florissant Performing Arts Center, presented by Hawthorne Players through Nov. 13.
Opening night Friday was a testament to a production fulfilling its promise and meeting the moment, truly raising the bar for the entire St. Louis theater scene.
Knowing what Ken Clark is capable of as a director and scenic designer, and recognizing members of the cast and creative team, I purchased tickets to see it as a patron, not as a professional critic (do not review community/school theater) or an AFL judge (which I did for 10 years, but no longer in that role). My schedule does not permit me to get to everything I’d like to see, but lo and behold, Nov. 4 opened up.
Winner of five Tony Awards in 2015 and seven Olivier Awards in London, this immersive drama is one of the most unique theatrical experiences you will ever see — and also one of the most moving. Simon Stephens adapted the book by Mark Haddon, which takes us on a journey inside the brilliant mind of Christopher, who struggles to process everyday information, and has sensory perception issues.
Recent upgrades to the theater — the auditorium is part of the Florissant Civic Center — have enabled next-level technical work. The ‘Curious Incident’ creative team is the first to use the new projectors, and it adds so much.
However, technological bells and whistles are only as good as the creative minds behind the set, sound and lighting designs — bravo to lighting designer Eric Wennlund (his “The Spitfire Grill” was sublime, an AFL award winner), sound designer Jacob Baxley, who also composed the music score (!), and scenic and projection designer Ken Clark. Remarkable work.
Mike De Pope, Daniel Wolfe. Photo by Wolfe Creative Media Services.
Delivering the show’s heart, getting the ‘mind’ of the material right, is a tight ensemble. Dan Wolfe is exceptional as Christopher, and you can’t get up to leave immediately after the curtain call (standing O Friday), or you’ll miss his terrific coda. The youngster, who won a Best Performance Award from AFL last summer for “Annie,” displays how much effort he put into making Christopher as authentic as possible. It’s a tour de force.
Mike De Pope and Jennelle Gilreath Owens are strong as the parents, Natalee Damron is the sympathetic and firm teacher Siobhan, and a fine group of local actors perform multiple roles, including Jeff Kargus, Marian Holtz, Elle Harlow, Patrick Brueggen, Hunter Fredrick and Jessica Kelly.
The dialect work is superb — and consistent, and the coaches, with UK roots, are Robert Ashton and Gwynneth Rausch. Special mention to assistant director and choreographer Stefanie Kluba for staging the crisp movements that add to this show’s tapestry, and to ace veteran costume designer Jean Heckmann.
Lobby photo.\ by Lynn Venhaus
It’s indeed a triumph for all involved, and especially for the Hawthorne board of directors, for greenlighting such a challenging work.
Now in its 75th season, the group has been celebrating throughout the year. Take time to look at all the historical items in the lobby — and you can take a chance on a stunning quilt Jean Heckmann made including some of their shows. The quilt drawing is set for after their final show of the year, “Cowboy Christmas,” on Dec. 10.
This show’s level of difficulty is high, and anyone who has seen it before — whether Broadway, London or locally, is aware of its demands. In 2017, The Repertory Theatre of St Louis’s production blew me away. Several months later, it was honored as Outstanding Drama Production by the St. Louis Theater Circle, of which I am a founding member.
Dan Wolfe. Photo by Wolfe Creative Media Services.
I remember talking to Steve Woolf, the late great artistic director of The Rep, who had seen the show in London , and felt he had ‘cracked the code’ on how to make it work at the Rep.
In a column after his untimely death in 2021, I wrote:
“During rehearsals for the stellar “All the Way” in 2015 (I was there to interview Brian Dykstra, playing LBJ, and Woolf, who was directing — https://www.bnd.com/living/magazine/article34672659.html), he told me about his experience seeing “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” in London.
He had been gobsmacked. He didn’t think The Rep could do it — very technical show, intricate — but the wheels were turning. He was so excited about trying to bring it to The Rep. “I think I’ve found a way we can do it,” he said to me later. (more of that article, https://www.poplifestl.com/sightlines-remembering-steve-woolf/
In 2019, Actors Attic, a youth-focused theater group in Columbia, Ill., won several Theatre Mask Awards, presented by Arts for Life, for its ambitious production directed by MaryBeth Scherr Babcock. As far as I know, they’ve been the only local group to tackle it until now.
Yes, this is high praise. And yes, it’s that good. This column isn’t intended to review the show, only to urge people to fill seats of Flo PAC. It takes a village to put on a show as risky and rewarding as this, and they pulled it off in spectacular fashion, so I wanted to honor their efforts. All that work was worth it — but they deserve an audience.
GO SEE IT and support live theater. We need the arts and how it connects people more than we ever have.
(Fun Fact: As a news reporter and feature writer at the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, I told then-entertainment editor Frank Hunter that I had a theater background and would be available to review local theater if he needed a hand. One of my earliest assignments that I recall was “Carousel” at Hawthorne Players in 1984.)
‘Curious Incident’ is performed Nov 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 7:30 pm, with a matinee on Nov. 13 at 2 pm at the Florissant Performing Arts Center. Tickets may be purchased online at https://florissantmo.thundertix.com/events/199113 For more information and sensitivity warnings, go to www.HawthornePlayers.com
Cover photo by Wolfe Creative Media Services
Ensemble on the train. Photo by Wolfe Creative Media Services.Dan Wolfe, Jennelle Gilreath Owens. Photo by Wolfe Creative Media Services.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
“You say either and I say either. You say neither and I say neither. Either, either. Neither, neither. Let’s call the whole thing off.” – George and Ira Gershwin
When the Gershwin brothers wrote “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” for the 1937 film “Shall We Dance” starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, gender roles were primarily traditional, as were societal ideals.
The witty ditty is used in The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ current show “Private Lives,” exemplifying opposites in Noel Coward’s urbane comedy of manners.
It’s sure indicative of how we can look at things with separate viewpoints. Such is my response to “Private Lives,” which is now playing through Oct. 23 at the Berges Theatre at COCA. The production has been well-received, according to reaction from the audience, my colleagues, and in talking with some theatergoers.
You say silly, I say insufferable.
Once upon a time, this 1930 ‘romantic’ comedy was the height of sophistication and snappy repartee. However, 92 years later, the biting wit has not aged well, despite Coward’s nimble wordplay twisting the battle of the sexes into loggerheads.
The premise of this highly regarded classic is that uppity Amanda Prynne (Amelia Pedlow) and imperious Elyot Chase (Stanton Nash) are enjoying a romantic honeymoon with new spouses, Victor Prynne (Carman Lacivita) and Sibyl Chase (Kerry Warren)– and they just happen to be staying at the same posh hotel on the northern coast of France.
When the divorced duo come face-to-face on adjoining balconies — for the first time in five years — sparks fly. They run off by the end of the first act, but just as passions collide, so do tempers. These two self-important twits remember why they fell in love – and why they split up in the second act.
Does it resonate as a send-up of the British upper-class or has it become a tiresome example of a combustible relationship where two people bicker incessantly? Do people dismiss the violent overtones because it’s a comedy?
“I struck him too. Once I broke four gramophone records over his head. It was very satisfying,” Amanda says to her new husband.
Because the former Mr. and Mrs. Chase bring out the worst in each other, trying to find the best of each other is a chore, not the fizzy fun it purports. (The Rep marketed it as ” fun, laughs, and a fresh take”). I had a tepid and triggering reaction, found it tedious at best and domestic abuse at worst.
In 2022, this work appears to me to be one of the most egregious examples of toxic relationships and white privilege upon examination through a 21st century lens. The melodramatic soap opera quality of this story got very old very fast.
The argument could be made – that was then, this isn’t now. But oh, have you been reading the news?
I don’t find verbal, emotional, or physical abuse of any sort amusing – even if it’s written by a famous closeted gay British snob who had a way with words. It is not OK on any stage, anywhere, and at any time. Period.
Sibyl and Victor go at it while Amanda and Elyot look on, after their fights started it all. Jon Gitchoff photo.
Let’s just refrain from giving any past-its-prime material attention if it involves unacceptable behavior that would not fly today (unless it’s a cautionary tale).
Sure, it remains one of Coward’s most celebrated successes and has been revived several times, but what is the reason for doing this show now or ever after?
Many people laughed – loud guffaws — on opening night Oct. 7 as the angry couple hurled food and broke things while slapping each other around. Fight choreographer Nathan Keepers had much work to do.
I was in a minority of those not chuckling. We were a smattering. In my lifetime, I’ll never understand why audience members were laughing at physical confrontations and destruction of property not their own. OK, people still laugh at The Three Stooges punching and poking each other, and there are Roadrunner and Wile E Coyote cartoons as points of reference.
Anyone thinking that the more acceptable we make of couples battering each other, the harder it is for abuse victims to come forward? Ever see the real physical aftermath or consequences? I doubt if anyone who grew up in an abusive household or is a survivor/victim of domestic abuse would find anything about this show ‘funny ha-ha’.
OK, the luxe set, designed by Lex Liang, was lovely to look at with its stylized Art Deco interiors, though. And expertly lit by lighting designer Colin Bills. The production elements excel in recreating the era’s affluence, including Kathleen Geldard’s glamorous costumes.
Yes, the production is slick and the performers skillful, but are two narcissists hell-bent on getting their way, no matter what cost, fun to watch? A darker truth is apparent on stage, no matter how many quips are delivered.
Amanda: I was brought up to believe it was beyond the pale for a man to strike a woman.
Elyot: A very poor tradition. Certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs.
Now, there were some gasps on that exchange.
Perhaps chemistry figures in to accepting that this once red-hot pair continue to emit white heat when together. Obviously, they can’t live together, for they start acting like ill-tempered children.
And they know it.
Amanda: I think very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives. It all depends on a combination of circumstances. If all the various cosmic thingummys fuse at the same moment, and the right spark is struck, there’s no knowing what one mightn’t do. That was the trouble with Elyot and me, we were like two violent acids bubbling about in a nasty little matrimonial bottle.
In the program, dramaturg Arianne Johnson Quinn, the inaugural Noel Coward fellow in the Billy Rose Theater division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, quotes Coward scholar: “Beneath the sophisticated repartee are two accidental assassins – destined to be destructive of each other and of anyone who comes emotionally close to them (The Letters of Noel Coward, 217).”
Quinn then wrote: “For Coward, affairs of the heart are glamorous excursions into human nature, and the inevitable comedy that follows stems from his ability to create living, breathing characters rather than dramatic archetypes. At the same time, modern audiences cannot escape the undercurrent of domestic abuse that runs as a throughline in the play.”
No, we can’t escape it – especially when they discuss their previous rows:
Elyot: The worst one was in Cannes when your curling irons burnt a hole in my new dressing-gown. [He laughs.]
Amanda: It burnt my comb too, and all the towels in the bathroom.
Elyot: That was a rouser, wasn’t it?
Amanda: That was the first time you ever hit me.
Elyot: I didn’t hit you very hard.
Amanda: The manager came in and found us rolling on the floor, biting and scratching like panthers. Oh dear, oh dear…[She laughs helplessly.]
Certain insensitive stereotypes, words, phrases, and behaviors have fallen out of favor in the name of diversity and inclusion, yet these golden-age chestnuts portray men keeping women in line like they’re property. And seem so cavalier about abuse.
Amanda: You are an unmitigated cad and a bully!
Elyot: And you are an ill-mannered and bad-tempered slattern!
Amanda: Slattern indeed!
Elyot: Yes, slattern and fishwife!
(Fishwife, according to the Macmillan Dictionary, is a slur for “a woman who speaks loudly in a rude voice.”)
Amanda bucks conformity, but her ‘feisty’ nature isn’t an excuse. When she’s confronted by her husband, finally, in her Paris flat, after a huge fight with Elyot, this is an exchange:
Taking a second look at very sexist books in creaky musicals, critics have decried “blackface,” “brownface,” “redface” and “yellowface.” Shouldn’t behaving badly on stage get an adverse reaction too?
You say funny, I say not. You say flippant, I say superficial exercise involving rich gasbags without much substance. You say erudite, I say entitled, pouty, shallow females and self-absorbed condescending males.
The new mates are obsessed with knowing how they rate compared to the wretched former wife or husband – this seems to be interminable interaction.
Coward wrote the play so that he and his actress friend, Gertrude Lawrence, could portray the characters, and he modeled the self-centered Amanda on his histrionic diva pal. Supposedly, their tumultuous friendship was not unlike the roles.
Amanda is an unlikable sharp-tongued, prone to exaggeration and temperamental shrew. She’s a spoiled insipid woman who behaves badly in the name of love. Pedlow’s affected – and hard to decipher sometimes – speech gets in the way. Dialect Coach Jill Walmsley Zager’s work was incomplete.
Stanton Nash, so delightful in St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s “Much Ado About Nothing” this past summer, has crisp comic timing and lets the fast-paced insults fly. But his character is a pompous ass.
As the jilted partners, Lacivita was debonair and a bit starchy as Victor, a colorless role, and Warren, unfortunately, is shrill in the stereotypical Sibyl role, an attractive but rather uninteresting and somewhat bubbleheaded bride prone to shrieking. As ‘the other two,’ they are stuck in very cookie-cutter parts.
Yvonne Woods has a brief role as Amanda’s French maid Louise, tasked with cleaning up the messes.
The focus, naturally, is on Amanda and Elyot, for they burn bright no matter what the temperature of the room. These would be unlikeable characters in any decade.
Sure, the characters are in a higher income bracket than some who live with domestic violence, but it’s still unhealthy, no matter how cultured the speech pattern or what class ranking they are. (Nicole Brown Simpson, anyone?)
I am reminded of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s description of Tom and Daisy Buchanan in “The Great Gatsby”:
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
Fitzgerald viewed them as a tragedy, Coward considers his vain high society characters a comedy.
Kerry Warren and Carman Lacivita. Photo by Jon Gitchoff
If this was a modern play, the entitlement and mistreatment would have everyone outraged, but here, we should accept it because it has the warm glow of nostalgia and it is written by a theater legend?
The Rep producers and director Meredith McDonough obviously think this madcap romp is entertaining, like the good old screwball comedies that run on Turner Classic Movies these days. (For the record, I wanted to be Rosalind Russell in “His Girl Friday.”)
McDonough described the show as a “loving treatise on love” — and then directed it like an irritating high-class shouting match ramped up in volume. Hana S. Sharif, the Augustin Family artistic director, called it a “great escape.”
The tone-deafness is mind-boggling. In what language, country, time or universe is this second act fight funny after Amanda puts on a record that Elyot doesn’t want to listen to?
Elyot: Turn it off.
Amanda: I won’t. [Elyot rushes at the gramophone. Amanda tries to ward him off. They struggle silently for a moment, then the needle screeches across the record] There now, you’ve ruined the record.
[She takes it off and scrutinizes it.]
Elyot: Good job, too.
Amanda: Disagreeable pig.
Elyot [suddenly stricken with remorse]: Amanda darling, Sollocks.
Amanda [furiously]: Sollocks yourself.
[She breaks the record over his head.]
Elyot [staggering]: You spiteful little beast.
[He slaps her face. She screams loudly and hurls herself sobbing with rage on to the sofa, with her face buried in the cushions.]
Amanda: [wailing]: Oh, oh, oh-
Elyot: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it — I’m sorry, darling, I swear I didn’t mean it.
Amanda: Go away, go away, I hate you.
[Elyot kneels on the sofa and tries to pull her round to look at him.]
Elyot: Amanda — listen — listen —
Amanda [turning suddenly, and fetching him a welt across the face]:
Listen indeed; I’m sick and tired of listening to you, you damned sadistic bully.
Elyot with great grandeur]: Thank you. [He stalks towards the door, in stately silence.
Amanda throws a cushion at him, which misses him and knocks down a lamp and a vase on the side table.
Elyot laughs falsely] A pretty display I must say.
Amanda [wildly]: Stop laughing like that.
Elyot [continuing]: Very amusing indeed.
Amanda [losing control]: Stop–stop–stop– [She rushes at him, he grabs her hands and they sway about the room, until he manages to twist her round by the arms so that she faces him, closely, quivering with fury]—I hate you–do you hear? You’re conceited, and overbearing, and utterly impossible!
Elyot [shouting her down]: You’re a vile-tempered, loose-living; wicked little beast, and I never want to see you again so long as I live.
[He flings her away from him, she staggers, and falls against a chair. They stand gasping at one another in silence for a moment.]
Amanda [very quietly]: This is the end, do you understand? The end, finally and forever.
[She goes to the door, which opens on to the landing, and wrenches it open. He rushes after her and clutches her wrist.]
Elyot: You’re not going like this.
Amanda: Oh, yes I am.
Elyot: You’re not.
Amanda: I am; let go of me–[He pulls her away from the door, and once more they struggle. This time a standard lamp crashes to the ground. Amanda, breathlessly, as they fight] You’re a cruel fiend, and I hate and loathe you; thank God I’ve realized in time what you’re really like; marry you again, never, never, never… I’d rather die in torment
Elyot: [at the same time]; Shut up; shut up. I wouldn’t marry you again if you came crawling to me on your bended knees, you’re a mean, evil- minded, little vampire — I hope to God I never set eyes on you again as long as I live.
[At this point in the proceedings they trip over a Victor and Sybil enter quietly, through the open door, and stand staring at them in horror. Finally Amanda breaks free and half gets up, Elyot grabs her leg, and she falls against a table, knocking it completely over.]
[She rushes back at Elyot who is just rising to his feet, and gives him a stinging blow, which knocks him over again. She rushes blindly off Left, and slams the door, at the same moment that he jumps up and rushes off Right, also slamming the door.
Victor and Sibyl advance apprehensively into the room, and sink on to the sofa]
In the third act, Sibyl and Victor begin mirroring the battling ex’s.
The Rep has very mixed messages in their line-ups.
Certainly, “Private Lives” is devoid of any teachable moment or enlightenment – or even making a connection.
I say potato, you say ‘po-tah-to.’ You say classic, I say painful. You say lighten up, I say, let’s talk. Know more, support services, be the change: 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are affected, and 1 in 15 children witness domestic abuse.
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents “Private Lives” Sept. 30–October 23, in the Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA (Creative Center of the Arts), 6880 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, 63130. For tickets or more information, visit: www.repstl.org.
To support local services, check out: Safe Connections, 2165 Hampton Ave., St. Louis, 63139; email info@safeconnections.org, call 314-646-7500, visit https://safeconnections.org/. They have a 24-hour crisis helpline: 314-531-2003
Violence Prevention Center of Southwestern Illinois, 618-236-2531, visit: https://www.vpcswi.org/. They have a 24-hour crisis helpline: 618-235-0892
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
With shimmering visuals and costumes, “House of Joy” shows flashes of dazzling technical brilliance at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Unfortunately, while mysterious and mystical, the storytelling is where it falters.
In a time and a place far, far away, the fictional setting is a South Asian kingdom – let’s just presume the Islamic Mughal Empire (16th-19th century) in around 1666. Apparently, society is segregated and we’re only seeing the females in the palace – and a eunuch who oversees this court of women.
Because it is disorienting at first, the play takes a long time to establish characters and their motives, then crowds the action in the second act, before it rushes to an unsatisfying open-ended conclusion, and overall is not as cohesive as it purports to be.
It’s as if playwright Madhuri Shekar has decided it’s best if we fill in the blanks ourselves, and the tone is all over the place. Dramaturg Salma S. Zohdi hasn’t connected the dots either.
Perhaps it’s because the loyalties shift between the poorly drawn characters and the story, with its multi-thread subplots that aren’t fully realized, doesn’t give us much to invest in during its two-hour runtime.
Questions, I have questions. Most importantly, why did this play need a rewrite that shifted the focus to a 7-person cast with six females and a same-sex love story? Why is it set in an unnamed empire and an unspecified time? Why does so much action take place off-stage?
While I can’t speak of the original one from earlier productions 2017- 2019, but only the rewrite that premiered in St. Louis, this current plot boils down to palace intrigue and chicanery regarding a power struggle between the emperor and his conniving daughter, Princess Noorah (Aila Ayilam Peck), from an earlier marriage. And unseen rebel forces we don’t know about but are alluded to in conversation.
The unseen despicable old emperor is currently married to a naïve young girl, Mariyam (Emily Marso), who is very pregnant, and living an arranged life she never imagined. Her job is to breed, and after she gives birth to an heir, she’s not as useful.
Lonely and miserable, this innocent queen has fallen in love with the newest palace guard, Roshni (Tina Munoz Pandya) of the all-female imperial harem.
Roshni, with a bloody tragic past that’s rather muddled, was befriended by the sly fox eunuch Salima (Omer Abbas Salem), who recommended her for the job. She had to impress the tough captain of the guards Gulal (Miriam A. Laube), who is demanding and still watches her carefully.
She loves the job, and her best bud working long shifts together in this self-described utopia is Hamida (Sumi Yu).
Salima and Gulal are the ones who know everything going on in the palace and where the loyalties lie. You don’t know if they can be trusted, however – they leave it up to interpretation. But if you are on their good side, then you are protected in the power plays.
What the back-stabbing (or merely stabby) princess wants to pull off – toppling the patriarchy! — seems like a disaster waiting to happen and there are shifting moving parts to the unrest/coup/insurrection, so much so that it’s confusing.
The stereotypical evil princess is merely a caricature in Peck’s hands. Overall, we have two sets of actors – the ones who stay in their lane and then the melodramatic ones who go over the top, as if they are in a daytime soap opera.
Yu is strong as Hamida and tries hard to flesh out her character. Regina Fernandez appears in four minor roles to round out the cast. As the couple at its center, Marso and Pandya are convincing in their passion and desire – and I rooted for them (after all, love is love is love is love).
The dialogue is flecked with modern words and phrases. I’m assuming whatever past century the characters are in, no one said “tittie” or “I’m aware.” This habit of writing period pieces in modern vernacular is often distracting – and annoying.
And as we hear long passages of exposition about what’s gone on in the past and what’s taking place off-site or off-stage, the story remains curiously uninvolving.
There is some bewildering mumbo-jumbo – a dead mother re-appearing as a ghost/apparition and a glowing pile of coals centerstage – that means something we’re supposed to figure out.
The love story overtakes the drama, and its romantic structure is clumsy. Paradise now is a prison for Roshni and Mariyam.
And then, we endure an unnecessary and gratuitous staging of a shockingly graphic sex scene in a boat.
What is the point here? We already know they are in love, and it is forbidden – she’s married! To the Emperor! And while everyone seems to know, it still is a situation fraught with danger. Illicit affairs have gone on in royal families, this is nothing new nor does it appear to be anything other than a garden variety plot conceit.
Despite whatever direction the intimacy coordinator (Gaby Labotka, who is also the fight choreographer) decided on, the scene is uncomfortable, with its simulation of stimulation and orgasm, and really takes the audience out of the story.
All I could think about was the teacher who brought a busload of (what looked like) junior high kids that I saw in the lobby, and the comments and complaints he/she would have to deal with, and if any parents came along as chaperones.
Yes, the play is for mature audiences. The Rep has stated, for content transparency: “This production contains adult sexual content, language, moments of violence, haze/fog and suggestive moments of smoking.”
Apparently, I’m not the only one who felt uneasy. Since opening night, people have contacted me, recounting patrons audibly gasping and others walking out. There appears to be a harsh negative backlash among longtime theatergoers. The play is polarizing, for there are others who enjoyed it very much.
Defenders will call us prudes and unenlightened. Us rubes here in flyover country don’t know theater and we need to be lectured at every opportunity by professionals who think they know more than we do, because how could we know anything about theater? (Now is the time to shake your head or chuckle or spit-take or whisper your feelings – or curse and shout that I’m very wrong).
I don’t need a lecture, and quite frankly, I’m tired of being told what I should like because it might take me out of my comfort zone (which I don’t mind at all, if it’s well-constructed, well-acted and says something).
I’m “aware.” Art is subjective. This is only my opinion. Whether or not you agree, I consider my role is to explain my view – and if something is worth your time and money.
Not that I need to explain myself, but I have seen many controversial plays, many heralded shows that fall short in a certain venue or a regional group’s interpretation. It happens. Isn’t the first rule of theater “know your audience”?
Go ahead, push boundaries, if it helps the story and its impact. Was it necessary to convey a romance in such a way? No. Discretion would have gotten the point across with several kisses and embraces.
For the record, I consider The Rep’s “Take Me Out” in 2005, part of its acclaimed but short-lived “Off the Ramp” series, to be one of the finest productions I have ever seen, and I sat very, very close to full frontal nudity while ball player characters rinsed, lathered, and repeated in shower scenes. (Fun Fact: I won an Illinois Press Association award for that review, back when they awarded reviews, and I was a full-time newspaper employee).
Of course, “House of Joy” is more than one incendiary scene, but by the time chaos and revolt occurs, is anyone on the edge of their seat? And do we really understand what is happening, and who’s aligned with who?
Its ambition is to be epic in scope, and the play is being misrepresented by comparing it to more cinematic genre-busting fare, calling it “Swashbuckling”? This is nothing close to DC’s Wonder Woman or the bad-ass Marvel Cinematic Universe women in “Black Panther.”
Of course, I’m all for women power, for I stand on the shoulders of giants. Sisters doing it for themselves is reason to celebrate. Getting away from abuse is necessary, especially for the queen. Can we get something to cheer about that’s lucid?
Playwright Shekar comes with quite a resume, full of awards and recognition, and has television and film credits as well. It doesn’t matter what she did before or after this play to a puzzled audience watching “House of Joy.”
If this is the first time this version has been presented, perhaps it needs to be workshopped further to make it stronger and more appealing.
Nevertheless, the production elements are stunning in execution – particularly what’s swirling on the on-stage screen, the collaboration between Projections Designer Stefania Bulbarella, Projections Programmer Devin Kinch, Projections Animator/Illustrator Joaquin Dagnino and Associate Projections Designer Brian Pacelli, who take it to next-level by changing it constantly and expanding the panoramic vistas.
That technical razzle-dazzle is complemented by Lighting Designer Sarah Hughey and Sound Designer Porchanok “Nok” Kanchanabanca. The costumes designed by Oona Natesan are exotic and elegant, with outstanding hairstyling (no name in program).
Director Lavina Jadhwani utilizes a spare stage designed by Dahlia Al-Habeli where movement flows crisply, and the palace guards are choreographed by Aparna Kalyanaraman.
Because this is what I consider a work-in-progress, in her program notes, Jadhwani described putting this show together as “jumping onboard a moving train.” Maybe some of us found it to be a trainwreck – it needs to be disassembled and put back together logically.
I didn’t find “House of Joy” joyous or fun or exciting or any of the words being used in marketing. Sure, it’s about “all you need is love” or “love is the answer” or “the love you take is equal to the love you make.” I think.
I’d like to have reasons to determine its impact. Spoiler alert: We don’t really know what happens to most of the characters when it ends, so how can we be moved or know what to feel when it leaves us hanging?
Answers, I’d like answers.
Photos by Eric Woolsey.
“House of Joy” is being presented Aug. 28 – Sept. 18 on The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ mainstage, 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves. For schedule of performances and ticket information, visit www.repstl.org.
Proof of a full COVID-19 vaccination and a valid ID, or a negative COVID test taken 24 hours before the performance, are required for entry into any Repertory Theatre event. Masks are highly encouraged, but optional. Front of House Staff will have one-time use masks on hand for patrons that would like to use them.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
This season’s exhilarating offerings feature contemporary plays by Madhuri Shekar and Dominique Morisseau, classics by Noël Coward and Agatha Christie, a musical tribute to Stephen Sondheim and the return of ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) Augustin Family Artistic Director, Hana S. Sharif, and Managing Director, Danny Williams, are excited to announce the 2022-2023 show lineup for the 56th Season. The Rep is thrilled to welcome audiences back this fall with a season filled with world-class productions, a joyful mix of classics featuring tributes to theatrical icons, and new work from powerhouse voices of the 21st century.
The 2022-23 Mainstage Season kicks off in August with the highly anticipated House of Joy by Madhuri Shekar – an action-packed fantasy filled with romance and lots of girl power. In late-September, journey down the 1930s French Riviera in Noël Coward’s Private Lives, a scathing sendup of the British upper class. Just in time for the holidays, The Rep rings in the spirit of the season with the second annual production of the magical wintery wonderland of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol adapted by Michael Wilson.
Heading into the new year, The Rep lights up the stage with Steven Sondheim’s, Putting It Together: A Musical Review, featuring many of the legend’s most unforgettable masterpieces. Then stay tuned for Confederates, a time-bending drama fresh off its New York debut from MacArthur Genius Award-Winning Playwright Dominique Morisseau and produced in association with Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Closing out the Mainstage is the timeless Agatha Christie classic, Murder on the Orient Express, adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig.
Spring 2023 will mark the long-awaited return of the beloved Steve Woolf Studio Series, adventurous theatre for adventurous theatregoers — a provocative and memorable black box experience at the new state-of-the-art Strauss Black Box Theatre in Kirkwood Performing Arts Center (KPAC). Show announcement to come in May.
“I look forward to inviting new and old friends to our theatre homes to share in the beauty and magic of the wonderful productions that will light up our stages next season,” said Sharif. “As I programmed the 2022-23 season I was inspired by the blossoming life of spring. From our reinvestment in the arts to the renewal of our commitment to the St. Louis community; my goal was to provide an array of productions that align with our mission of sharing entertaining and thought-provoking world-class art.”
“I am immensely excited to be at the helm of The Rep for my first full season with such a thrilling lineup of shows,” added Williams. “It’s been a true joy to watch this season come together and we can’t wait to share with everyone St. Louis.”
New for the 2022-2023 season, The Rep is offering several tiered subscription pass options, available now (prices vary by section). These exclusive subscription passes offer audiences the opportunity to find the perfect subscription for them. Subscription options:
● Classic Subscription Pass: Get your tickets for all 5 Mainstage shows, plus your choice of our Holiday or Steve Woolf Studio offerings. Lock in your preferred seats and dates for the entire season when you order. And if your plans change, enjoy no-fuss exchanges.
● Flex Subscription Pass: Get six passes to use for the best available seats to the shows you want most on the dates that fit your schedule, redeemable any time during the season.
● Insider Preview Subscription Pass: Be the first to see the show and get a great deal! Just like the Classic Pass, you’ll get tickets for the 5 Mainstage performances, plus your choice of either our Holiday or Steve Woolf Studio offerings. By attending Insider Preview Weekends (the first Friday-Sunday of each show’s run), you get priority access to the best seats in the theatre and save substantially on your subscription.
Mainstage shows will take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts and the Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA. The full schedule for the 2022-2023 Season is as follows:
● House of Joy: August 26 – September 18, Loretto-Hilton Center
At first glance, The House of Joy is a dazzling utopia; but when a new guard joins the emperor’s army, she discovers it’s more prison than paradise. This genre-busting adventure fantasy is filled with stunning locales, electrifying combat, steamy romance and badass girl power.
● Private Lives: September 30 – October 23, Catherine B. Berges Theatre
Amanda and Elyot are enjoying a romantic honeymoon – just not with each other. A chance meeting on their adjoined hotel balconies brings this divorced duo face-to-face for the first time in five years. Passions and tempers collide in this combustible romp, as the two remember why they fell in love and why they divorced in the first place.
● A Christmas Carol: November 18 – December 30, Loretto-Hilton Center
The Rep rings in the spirit of the season with the second annual production of this holiday classic. At long last, the ghosts of Ebenezer Scrooge’s past, present and future have caught up with him. Now London’s most infamous miser must face down his demons, reconcile the consequences of his choices and experience the power and joy of a miraculous redemption.
● Putting it Together: A Musical Review: January 27 – February 19, Catherine B. Berges Theatre
Celebrate legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim by revisiting nearly 30 of the most poignant, powerful and witty songs in the American musical theatre canon. This beautiful, funny and emotionally charged musical review exposes the complicated relationships and deepest desires of two couples out for an elegant evening.
● Confederates: February 10 – March 5, Loretto-Hilton Center
An enslaved rebel turned Union spy and a tenured professor in a modern-day private university are having parallel experiences of institutionalized racism, despite existing more than a century apart. Dominique Morisseau brilliantly bends the continuum of time and weaves together the stark realities of racial and gender bias both women face in this illuminating drama.
Confederates is being produced in association with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
● Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express: March 17 – April 16, Loretto-Hilton Center
It’s 1934, just after midnight, and a snowstorm has stopped the opulent Orient Express sleeper train in its tracks. A wealthy American businessman is discovered dead, and the brilliant and beautifully mustachioed Hercule Poirot must solve the mystery before the murderer strikes again. Agatha Christie’s plot-twisting masterpiece takes audiences on a suspenseful thrill ride.
Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
● Steve Woolf Studio Series: Spring 2023, Strauss Black Box Theatre in Kirkwood Performing Arts Center (KPAC)
Adventurous theatre for adventurous theatregoers — a provocative and memorable black box experience at the new state-of-the-art . Show announcement to come in May.
For more information and to purchase, visit repstl.org or call the Box Office at (314) 968-4925. The Rep Box Office at the Loretto-Hilton Center will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM.
About The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
The Rep is the St. Louis region’s most honored live professional theatre company. Founded in 1966, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is a fully professional theatrical operation belonging to the League of Resident Theatres, The League of St. Louis Theatres and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Visit www.repstl.org for more, and find The Rep on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus We have been enriched by Steve Woolf as a titan in regional theater, and his loss will be deeply felt.
For 33 years, he guided The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, until his retirement in 2019. He died Monday at age 75.
I had the opportunity to interview and talk with him on several occasions, and I am very grateful to have been in his orbit for a bit. It was an honor. His immense love of theater was obvious from the moment you encountered him – his eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas.
I have been reviewing plays at The Repertory Theatre since 2005. Their “Take Me Out” I consider to be the gold standard for plays in St. Louis. As a founding member of the St. Louis Theater Circle in 2012, I have presented him with a lion’s share of awards. Every year, from 2013-2019, he was always gracious and sincere, no matter how many trips he took to the stage.
During the past decade, The Rep has earned more than 100 awards. They have led the way in innovation and excellence – in acting, direction, set design, lighting design, sound and much more.
As an Arts For Life board member, I helped facilitate his Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, for his “vision, passion and excellence,” and he was so genuine about the honor. But that’s what he did — lived an authentic life. He never forgot that he was a kid from Milwaukee living out his dream.
And so, he could inspire — he talked about the magic of live theater, being in a dark room, sharing a special experience with other people that changes us and connects us.
His work spoke for itself: He directed “Red,” one of my favorites, and he brought the complex “Oslo” to the stage as one of his final — and most intense — works. He committed to making it relatable, no easy task with a large sprawling cast.
During rehearsals for the stellar “All the Way” in 2015 (I was there to interview Brian Dykstra, playing LBJ, and Woolf, who was directing — https://www.bnd.com/living/magazine/article34672659.html), he told me about his experience seeing “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” in London.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at The Rep
He had been gobsmacked. He didn’t think The Rep could do it — very technical show, intricate — but the wheels were turning. He was so excited about trying to bring it to The Rep. “I think I’ve found a way we can do it,” he said to me later. (And it would win the Theatre Circle’s Outstanding Production, which opened the 2017-2018 season, and Best Director, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, in 2018.)
The enthusiasm he had for the process and the collaboration of “putting it all together” were so obvious. I cherish a brief interchange I had with him — in a stairwell at The Rep — about “The Humans,” which was a thought-provoker, had many layers. I had made an observation, and he wanted to hear more of my thoughts. It had received a mixed reaction — but he was firm in his fervor. He was just so darn insightful.
During an interview before the 50th season, which opened with “Follies,” he recalled the first time he saw the show as a young man studying theater. We geeked out about our mutual love of Stephen Sondheim. “Follies” was brilliant, but his other major production at The Rep, in 2012, the magnificent “Sunday in the Park with George,” was breathtaking. Truly memorable.
Every year, he would go to New York to soak up multiple theater productions. And hearing about his experiences was always a treat. During intermission of yet another “Mamma Mia!” at the Fox, I went over to chat with Joe Pollack, and Steve Woolf also came over to talk to Joe, and he regaled us with tales from his recent Broadway adventures. How fortunate to hear his vision and just how he radiated joy about theater (I mean, he was at “Mamma Mia!”).
One of my favorite Steve Woolf remembrances was, in fact, at Joe Pollack’s memorial service on March 17, 2012, at The Rep, of course. His widow, Ann Lemons Pollack, had arranged for five main speakers — all from a different facet of Joe’s life/illustrious career. Steve was the representative for theater, only fitting. He said as a critic, Joe just wanted the theater groups to “get it right.” Oh, yes, what a perfect summation.
And yes, Steve, you “got it right” more often than not. You will be missed, for your wit, your wisdom, your humanity, your desire for theater to spark conversations — and how you appreciated St. Louis audiences.
May God rest your soul. Your memory is already a blessing to me. And I hope you and Joe can continue to have some great conversations.
Mark Bernstein, retired managing director at The Rep, summed it up perfectly in a statement: “Steve always had his finger on the pulse of the St. Louis community, programming plays that resonated in the here and now, and showcasing the work of outstanding directors, designers and actors. St. Louis audiences responded by filling the seats, night after night, week after week, year after year.”
Standing O, Steve!
”Here is an article I wrote for the Webster-Kirkwood Times when he was getting multiple awards before retiring:
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
New season includes world premieres of ‘Dreaming Zenzile’ and ‘The Gradient,’ plus ‘The Trinity River Plays,’ an original work by Rep playwright-in-residence Regina Taylor
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) is pleased to announce its 2021-2022 Season, featuring two world premieres. The season kicks off September 10 with the world premiere production of ‘Dreaming Zenzile,’ a musical about the South African songstress Miriam Makeba, written and performed by Grammy-nominated international music sensation Somi Kakoma.
‘Dreaming Zenzile’ will be followed by the world premiere of Steph Del Rosso’s ‘The Gradient,’ a satire set in the not-so-distant future in which a new facility promises to take men accused of sexual misconduct and rehabilitate them into responsible citizens. The Charles Dickens’ classic ‘A Christmas Carol’ will become a new holiday tradition under the direction of Hana S. Sharif, Augustin Family Artistic Director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. The second half of the season will feature ‘The 39 Steps,’ a farce written by Patrick Barlow adapted from the novel by John Buchan and the Alfred Hitchcock film; ‘The Trinity River Plays,’ a trilogy exploring one woman’s life journey by The Rep’s playwright-in-residence, Regina Taylor; and ‘House of Joy,’ an action-adventure romance by Madhuri Shekar.
The full schedule for the 2021-2022 Season is as follows:
Dreaming Zenzile: September 10 – October 3, Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts
The Gradient: October 1 – October 24, Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA
A Christmas Carol: December 3 – 23, Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts
The 39 Steps: January 21 – February 13, Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts
The Trinity River Plays: February 11 – March 6, Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA
House of Joy: March 18 – April 10, Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts
“We are excited to be returning to the stage for a new season of live theatre featuring the work of thought-leading playwrights including our own playwright-in-residence, Regina Taylor,” said Hana S. Sharif, Augustin Family Artistic Director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. “We know our audiences have been eager to return to the theatre and we’re delighted this compelling season offers something for everyone to enjoy.”
Subscriptions for The Rep’s 2021-2022 season are available now, and single tickets go on sale August 2. For more information and to purchase, visit repstl.org.
Hana S. Sharif
About The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
The Rep is the St. Louis region’s most honored live professional theatre company. Founded in 1966, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is a fully professional theatrical operation belonging to the League of Resident Theatres, The League of St. Louis Theatres and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Visit www.repstl.org for more, and find The Rep on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
A majestic and powerful African elephant, brutally killed for his ivory tusks, is an unforgettable central character – both in life and death — in the haunting fable, “Mlima’s Tale.”
Actor Kambi Gathesha is a towering figure, using his elegance and physicality to appear as the beautiful creature on the African savannas in a Kenyan game preserve. His hypnotic spirit remains in the afterlife.
A commanding, expressive presence for 85 minutes on a sparse stage at the Berges Theatre at COCA in University City, Gathesha guides us on his bounty’s path. It’s a dark and disturbing journey through the sinister world of the international, and illegal, ivory trade.
This is The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ first live presentation since the pandemic shut down its stages in March 2020 and was initially set for last year.
The regional premiere of Lynn Nottage’s engrossing work explores what price commerce and where the line is drawn, if it is at all.
Nottage, the celebrated playwright who has won two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama, for “Sweat” in 2017, set in a factory workers’ hangout in a company town in rustbelt Pennsylvania, and “Ruined,” from 2009, which is about sex slavery during a civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is to date the only woman to win twice.
Nottage’s dramatic storytelling unfolds poetically with Mlima, symbolizing the animal’s grandeur and fear, and uses her meticulous research to present African history, culture and tradition.
Then, she focuses on the unsavory poachers and smugglers, pointing fingers at those who profit from taking what isn’t theirs – including a complicated grid of government officials and black-market operatives. Nottage explains how and why it’s a big-money cutthroat business with such high stakes.
Imagine mother Africa. Its beauty. The regal wildlife. But greed and conspicuous consumption are driving the global economy, and opportunists are ready to pounce.
Special recognition must go to choreographer Kirven Douthit-Boyd, who created the graceful movements, and through Gathesha’s motion, depicts the horrific killing, by bow and poison arrow.
A small cast of four fills the space, with Ezioma Asonye, Will Mann and Joe Ngo each assuming 28 different characters, with Helen Huang’s costume design crucial to distinguishing who’s who in quick outfit changes. Their roles include Somali poachers, a police chief, a park warden, bureaucrat, Chinese businessman, ship captain and ivory carver – all in various shades of gray (morality-wise) – as we travel from Kenya to Beijing.
Their authenticity is further illustrated by the lyrical work of dialect coaches Barbara Rubin and Julie Foh, for the characters represent various countries.
Much is left to the imagination in this minimalistic production, but director Shariffa Ali has conjured up such potent, vivid imagery that connects it simply and beautifully. You feel Mlima’s magnificence (and just a note, “Mlima” means “mountain” in Swahili).
You-Shin Chen’s scenic design and Jasmine Lesane’s lighting design add to the impressionistic feel while the sound design and music score by Avi Amon enhanced the atmosphere.
Photo by Phillip Hamer
By humanizing Mlima’s plight, Nottage draws much needed attention to the exploitation of animals who should be protected, but people look the other way because they are driven by money, not conscience.
With heart-wrenching scenes and heartless people, “Mlima’s Tale” provoked both anger and tears.
“Mlima’s Tale” is presented May 28 through July 11 at the Berges Theatre at COCA, 6880 Washington Avenue in University City. For more information, visit www.repstl.org.
For audience and performer safety, theatre capacity will be kept at 25 percent, in line with the St. Louis County Department of Health’s COVID-19 guidelines. In addition, The Rep is adhering to its comprehensive plan to keep actors, production staff and patrons safe during the return to live theatre. ‘Mlima’s Tale’ is The Rep’s only performance from the 2020-2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright visits St. Louis to discuss her timely and important works, being presented locally by both theatre groups
ST. LOUIS (June 18, 2021) – The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) and St. Louis Black Repertory Company (The Black Rep) are pleased to welcome two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage to St. Louis for a very special roundtable event, Telling the ‘Tale’ with Lynn Nottage on Friday, June 25 at 6 p.m. via Facebook Live and YouTube. Hana S. Sharif, Augustin Family Artistic Director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Ron Himes, Founder and Producing Director of The Black Rep will spend 90 minutes in conversation with Nottage, moderated by Adena Varner, Director of Learning and Community Engagement for The Rep.
The conversation will center on two key works by Nottage being presented by the local theatre groups: Mlima’s Tale, currently being performed by The Rep through July 11 at the Catherine B. Berges theatre at COCA; and Sweat, set to open The Black Rep’s 45th season from September 8 through 26 at the Edison Theatre at Washington University.
“Lynn Nottage is one of the most important voices in modern American theatre, so bringing her thought-provoking, Mlima’s Tale, to life as The Rep’s first in-person production this year has been a true joy” said Sharif. “It is a gift for the St. Louis community to have two of her groundbreaking plays produced this year. I am delighted to partner with Ron Himes in this incredible opportunity to delve deeply into her work and the themes she explores.”
Himes added, “I’m looking forward to being in conversation with these two brilliant women of the theatre and to continue The Black Rep’s relationship with Lynn Nottage by presenting Sweat to open our in-person 45th Anniversary season. We have presented Intimate Apparel and Ruins in past seasons and our audiences have been moved; our artists have been challenged. Mlima’s Tale continues to elevate Nottage as one of our best American playwrights.”
Nottage is the first, and remains the only, woman to have twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her plays have been produced widely in the United States and throughout the world. She was named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2019.
Telling the ‘Tale’ with Lynn Nottage is a free online event with an RSVP required via Eventbrite.
About The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
The Rep is the St. Louis region’s most honored live professional theatre company. Founded in 1966, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is a fully professional theatrical operation belonging to the League of Resident Theatres, The League of St. Louis Theatres and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Visit www.repstl.org for more, and find The Rep on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About St. Louis Black Repertory Company
Founded in 1976 by Producing Director Ron Himes, The Black Rep is one of the largest professional African-American theatre companies in the nation and the largest African American professional performing arts organization in Missouri. Quality professional dramas, comedies and musicals by primarily African American and African Diaspora playwrights are produced. Main-stage productions and education programs combine to reach more than 80,000 people annually. For more information visit theblackrep.org.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
Grammy-nominated singer Somi stars in co-production that will travel the U.S.
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) will launch its electrifying 2021-22 live theatre season with the world premiere production of Dreaming Zenzile, Based on the life of Miriam Makeba, written and performed by Grammy-nominated international music sensation Somi Kakoma. The musical is the first show announced for The Rep’s 2021-2022 live theatre season.
Under the direction of Lileana Blain-Cruz, the rolling world premiere production of Dreaming Zenzile, Based on the life of Miriam Makeba, will journey from the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis to the McCarter Theatre Centerto ArtsEmerson to a New York City collaboration with the Apollo Theater, National Black Theatre and New York Theatre Workshop, all in partnership with Octopus Theatricals. The soul-stirring production includes a live jazz band playing original music and reinterpretations of Makeba’s remarkable catalog.
The arts organizations came together as a collective to bring Dreaming Zenzile, Based on the life of Miriam Makeba, back to life after the initial production and world premiere scheduled for April 2020 at The Rep was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These esteemed theatrical companies joining forces for this shared production marks a long-awaited return of live theatre after the most challenging time for both artists and patrons of the arts.
“As the daughter of Rwandan and Ugandan immigrants, this show is personal because Miriam Makeba paved the way for artists like me,” said Somi. “This work is about uplifting her legacy as a conscious revolutionary who brought Africa to the world’s center stage.”
Performances of Dreaming Zenzile, Based on the life of Miriam Makeba begin at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis onSeptember 10, 2021. The show runs September 10, 2021 to October 3, 2021 at The Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts.
Somi
Somi, whose jazz music and social consciousness has drawn comparison to Nina Simone, was nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award and received an NAACP Award for her album, Holy Room: Live At Alte Oper. Her 2017 album, Petite Afrique, won a 2018 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album. Her new album honoring Makeba, titied Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba, will be released in July and can be pre-ordered here.
Somi, who wrote and stars in the musical, takes the audience to Makeba’s final performance where she raises the conscience and the consciousness of a people. The ancestors are calling – transporting her through the music and fractured memories of her past on a spiritual journey of reconciliation.
Born in Johannesburg in 1932, Makeba called attention to apartheid in South Africa, where the white-led government forced racial segegration from 1948 to 1991. In 1968, Makeba married Black Panther and civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael and soon fell out of favor in the United States.
“It is an incredible gift to open our season with Somi’s incomparable portrayal of the beauty and complexity of Miriam Makeba’s journey.” said Hana S. Sharif, Augustin Family Artistic Director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. “I am delighted that St. Louis audiences will be the first to experience this stunning production after 18 months of anticipation. It is a great joy to work with my colleagues across the country to support the launch of Dreaming Zenzile.”
Following the premiere at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Dreaming Zenzile, Based on the life of Miriam Makeba will receive additional productions at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, N.J., and New York Theatre Workshop in New York City , in partnership with National Black Theatre and Octopus Theatricals.
The production stars Somi Kakoma as Miriam Makeba. It will be directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, Hervé Samb will serve as musical director, with Marjani Forte-Saunders (choreography), Ricardo Hernandez (scene design), Mimi Plange (costume design), Yi Zhao (lighting design), and Justin Ellington (sound design). Special thanks to The Miriam Makeba Estate, The Mama Africa Cultural & Social Trust, and The Miriam Makeba Foundation for their support and permission to create this work.
Dreaming Zenzile, Based on the life of Miriam Makeba is developed by Octopus Theatricals and the National Black Theatre, co-commissioned by Joe’s Pub at The Public and ArtsEmerson, Boston, and developed with the support of The Apollo Theatre. It was further developed at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in 2019, and received residencies with SEI Innovation studio at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, The Clarice Smith Center’s Artist Partner Program, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Rauschenberg Residency/Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and UCLA Center for the Art of Performance. The original music and arrangements of Dreaming Zenzile were made possible through the French American Jazz Exchange, a joint program of FACE Foundation and Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with generous funding from Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, SACEM, Institut Français and the Ministere de la Culture et de la Communication.
About Somi
Somi Kakoma was born in Illinois to immigrants from Uganda and Rwanda. Known in the jazz world simply as ‘Somi’, she has built a career of transatlantic storytelling, and is the first African woman ever nominated in any Grammy jazz category (2021, Best Jazz Vocal Album for Holy Room; 2021 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Vocal Album). Somi’s previous albums include Petite Afrique (2018 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album) and her major label debut The Lagos Music Salon feat. special guests Angelique Kidjo and Common. Both albums earned her ECHO Award nominations in Germany for Best International Jazz Vocalist. Somi recently announced a new studio album honoring the great South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba, to be released in July 2021. Somi is a Soros Equality Fellow, a USA Doris Duke Fellow, a TED Senior Fellow, a Sundance Theatre Fellow, and a former artist-in-residence at Park Avenue Armory, Rauschenberg Residency at Captiva, Baryshnikov Arts Center and UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance. Somi holds undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and African Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master’s degree in Performance Studies from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and is the founder of Salon Africana, a boutique cultural agency and record label.
About The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
The Rep is the St. Louis region’s most honored live professional theatre company. Founded in 1966, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is a fully professional theatrical operation belonging to the League of Resident Theatres, The League of St. Louis Theatres and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Visit www.repstl.org for more, and find The Rep on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
